


Stormbird

by KuraiOfAnagura



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Changelings, Fae & Fairies, M/M, Transformation, Winter Solstice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 15:45:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10516812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KuraiOfAnagura/pseuds/KuraiOfAnagura
Summary: „I'm not going to bargain about it now. I'm going to face everything he's going to throw at me with my head held high.”“Yuri.”“No, listen Beka, I know it's my own damn fault. And I would gladly do it again if it means to save you. Just know I lo-” But he could never finish his last sentence. As if pulled by an invisible string the blond man came suddenly to a stop, words cut short, his eyes loosing all of their focus and clarity. A final shuddering breath escaped in a frozen cloud.





	

„I'm not going to bargain about it now. I'm going to face everything he's going to throw at me with my head held high.”

“Yuri.”

“No, listen Beka, I know it's my own damn fault. And I would gladly do it again if it means to save you. Just know I lo-” But he could never finish his last sentence. As if pulled by an invisible string the blond man came suddenly to a stop, words cut short, his eyes loosing all of their focus and clarity. A final shuddering breath escaped in a frozen cloud.

“Time's up, my little bird, I've finally come to claim what's mine!” The voice held a chirping tingle, yet it also carried a glacier, cracking the words around the edges in a harsh and unforgiving way. From beneath the throne appeared the Winter King, current reigning sovereign at the fairy court, now that the circle of seasons had shifted in the mortal realm. He held a lazy smile as he offered his hand. Yuri dropped Otabek's fingers and turned to face the tall silver haired man. It was clear the puppet master controlled his every move as they joined hands and Victor spun him around at his whims.   
Once tightly enveloped in the King's arms, back pressed towards the viciously decorated chest, his body went limp. Victor tilted the head easily that it rested against his shoulders, the slack and expressionless face pointed towards Otabek. Otabek who stood rooted by invisible shackles in the center of the court.

Seeing those eyes broke his heart. They were once lit alight by a flame that had scorched anything which dared to cross their way. Yet now they were like marbles of green glass. Lifeless.

The Winter King had already claimed his friend in body and mind.

A single tear slid out of Yuri's eye; it froze halfway down his cheek.

“See, little Changeling! He'd bargained with me and lost the game. But his efforts will not be in vain. You're offered a place here at court. Your years of torment in the mortal world are finally coming to an end! Are my informations correct, that you were half dead when your human friend here ripped the door open to our realm? Don't you worry! You'll be save here. And your human will join us for the eternity that is to come!”

Victor smiled at him. Otabek felt vomit at the back of his throat. Cold sweat glistered on his skin as he threw himself into his bonds. He couldn't even move one muscle.

“And as for you my little mortal...” The King's attention turned back towards the puppet in his arms. He nuzzled his face into the exposed crook of his neck and caressed the pale cheeks with slender and elegant fingers, leaving little frozen patterns in their wake. Gently he cupped the petite face lovingly, tilting the obedient head until their lips nearly met. “I've seen beauty in you the first time I laid my eyes on you. Beauty and strength. You have a storm in your soul and a cold fire in your heart. It will be the utmost pleasure to quench them both. You'll be my little bird so I can relinquish in your beauty whenever I wish to.” The Winter King finally pressed his lips onto the youth's, tilting the whole body backwards in a twisted dance. He breathed his ancient magic of ice and winter deep into the soul of the boy, marking him as his own beyond the point of return.

The change started immediately as Victor retrieved his lips. Yuri threw his head back and a breathless groan escaped him.

“Hush, little bird, you're one for the eye. I don't need another songbird.” As soon as he'd commanded it, Yuri's voice was sealed. He let the body fall and he'd crumbled together at the marble floor trembling and withering.

The vile chunk of horror started to sink into Otabek's guts as he witnessed his friends silent agony. He'd always pictured him looking beautiful with long hair, but the pace it now grew out of his skull was sickening. No voice could escape the boy, though the grinding and cracking of bone and flesh echoed eerily in the grand hall. With a violent spasm the body jerked upwards and this was when the feathers started to sprout; first on his shoulders, then on his temples, his arms and ankles. Down the way to his by now bare back. More and more of them spilled out of his shoulders, growing longer and stronger until they formed grand wings, dwarfing the lithe figure beneath them. With a last gasp it was mercifully over and the bird slumped back on the floor in exhaustion.

White, white like freshly fallen snow. The feathers were vast and hung like a cloak from his back. With a tremor the bird shot up, wild eyes scanning frantically over the crowd. Wings flapping rapidly in blinding panic, starting to lift him up in the air.

“Ah, I was right! You're really a thing of beauty!”

The Winter King stepped in front of the new born bird. Upon his sight the look of panic on his face morphed into fear; green eyes wide. The wings doubled their frantic yet uncoordinated effort, eager to bring more distance between the bird and the fea, sending little white feathers in all directions.

The King smiled. Ice took shape out of thin air, forming swirling patterns around the feathery creature. As the bird realized what this implied, he turned deliriously, but to no avail. Wherever he turned the ice was already in front of him, successfully trapping him finally in a translucent cage. In one last distraught rear he threw himself at the borders of his frozen prison, only to hiss audibly in pain, mouth parted in an unheard cry.

After that he gave up.

Curling in itself, he sunk towards the floor of the cage, his wings covering most of his body like a very white and pristine blanket. What was visible from his shoulders shook in mute sobs.

“Ah, you excel my expectations! I knew you'd be pretty, but your beauty is breathtaking! Come here, let me take a closer look at you!” But the bird shied away at the words and the outstretched hands that crossed the swirling bars; retreating to the opposite corner of his prison. 

The Winter King's smile faltered a little. “Come Here.” The bird made pained face, but it was obvious he couldn't fight against the pull of a direct command of his master. Victor made a cooing sound as he was finally able to cradle the birds head. With one finger he brushed the golden strands away and stared into eyes that were stricken with despair.

“What do you say, Changeling? He's a sight to behold, isn't he?”

“Yes,” Otabek heard his tongue replying. “He is very beautiful.” He felt disgusted with himself, because his heart agreed with the fea. Yuri had always been beautiful. With his pretty face, his lean body and those wonderful eyes. But the thing he'd turned into literally took Otabek's breath away. Neither the eyes, nor the face had changed. From what Otabek could make out beneath the white plumage also most of his human shape had remained the same. Yet his skin was now the shade of moonlight, light webs of blue pulsating oh so lightly beneath the surface; impossible long golden hair pooled down his shoulders, intermingling with the feathers until they couldn't be kept apart.

Victor smirked pleased with himself and retrieved his hand, allowing the bird to once again curl into a ball in the middle of cage.

“Well, Changeling, welcome to the royal court. Work hard and you may earn titles and honors among your kind,” with one last clap on his shoulder the King had brushed past him and all of the court bristled to live; crowding around the latest collectible of their ruler. Also the force that bound Otabek in place was gone and he stumbled forward.

Not caring about etiquette he shoved his way through the fairies until he was in front of his best friend. The bird had sunken down into a little feathery ball, trying to shield himself from the prying gazes. His green eyes darted over the onlookers, curtly locking with Otabek's until they wandered further.

The realization hurt more than anything. He didn't recognize him anymore. No, Otabek thought, Yuri probably couldn't even remember his own name anymore. Victor had taken all from him.

It all pressed down on him and he fell to his knees. Burying his face in his hands he wept.

 

–

 

“You come here quite often, Ser Otabek.” Only his eyes shifted upon the intruder who dared to disturb him in his most precious hour. With one fluid motion he turned and sunk on one knee, tilting his head.

“Forgive me, your majesty, I haven't recognized you.”

“Please stand, Ser Otabek. So you've taken a liking in our bird? I also enjoy watching him for hours. He's a storm bird. Normally their coat is varying shade of gray. The colors of the storm clouds they're born into. But he's a bird of storm and ice; a blizzard made flesh. Once they're tame, you can witness all of the fairness of these birds. But _his_ beauty is nearly too much, don't you think so too?” The bird spared the newcomer a stoic glance and offered Otabek a little smile before he continued to stare out of the high window next to his cage. He probably watched the little songbirds, hopping from branch to branch, flapping their tiny wings freely. Tame? Hardly. It had become an infamous dare for younger folk to reach inside of the cage. When one got lucky he could retreat fast enough. If not he would loose a lot of fingers. Dark red blood went surprisingly well on those pure wings. 

Instead of replying to the ramble Otabek watched the little sigh, every feather on his body breathed with him. Otherwise he remained still and statuesque.

Otabek didn't recognize those eyes anymore. They held a broken promise.

“I've heard you have a history with him?” Otabek looked again at the person that stood next to him in front of Yuri's prison. The Bride of Winter hasn't been at the court for a long time and it was honestly the first time Otabek got to speak with him. He wore glasses, so he either had to be a changeling like him or a half blood. Nonetheless the story of the King of Winter dashing off in a fit of love only to return with a bride would be the talk for centuries to come!   
He was a soft spoken man and Otabek felt himself relax in his company despite better judgment. But maybe it was just Yuri's presence.

“I loved him. Once. When he was still human. And even now.” That caught the true attention of the Winterbride as he felt the man shifting to face him. Otabek only had eyes for the bird, though.

“I am a changeling, but I've been forgotten as my human counterpart had died here. So I remained too long into the mortal world with out any connection to our realm. To be honest I've grown up in the certainty that I'm a normal human as well. Being cut off of the flow of magic though withered my body. I was deemed a sick child and an even sicker adult. The healers didn't know what it was, but they gave me not much time. Yu- He was my best friend. And he'd suffered with me, helpless to aid me. Yet one day we found out I'm actually fea and even while my body was already failing me like a dying leaf during autumn, he struggled and struggled and finally tore a hole into the walls that separate our worlds. Of course that's a crime, but it saved my life. He'd accepted a game from Victor to unburden his actions. But it's the same old story over and over again. The mortal couldn't win against the fea king and ended up his pet and slave. Doomed to suffer as a flightless bird, caged for eternity.”

The Winterbride remained still. Otabek just wished he would leave, granting him the few hours he was allowed to stroll alone through the palace. He didn't know how many cycles have passed already. The people he knew as his parents were most likely already dead, as was Yuri's grandfather and cat. He hadn't set a foot back into the world of his childhood, but he had worked hard in the fairer realm. He'd made good use of Victor's advice back then, earning himself the title of Hero and many more, fighting his way up and up until he would finally be strong enough to free his friend.

“You know, Victor is not really cruel. He's just... thoughtless.”

At this Otabek turned and looked at the Winterbride as if he'd grown a second head. Those fea still got him.

“By all due respect, your majesty, but how can you not see that this is cruel? Do you see happiness in his eyes. He was given wings, yet he'd never been able to fly.”

“But Ser Otabek, he's just a bird...”

Otaek's shoulders deflated. “He was once a boy who laughed and cried and he's still the one I love.” The Winterbride blinked owlishly at him, clearly at a loss of what to say next.

“Would you believe me when I told you his name was also Yuri?”

Puzzled he turned around and fled the bird's room. With the sound of the closing doors, the bird broke his gaze from the window and turned to Otabek. He laid down on the floor, cushioning his head on his arms to be closer to Otabek's level. Face close to the searing bars. Carefully Otabek maneuvered his hands inside the cage, caressing the feathered head. The bird closed his eyes in delight and if he'd still had a voice he would've hummed contently. When he opened his eyes and smiled at the knight, Otabek felt his heart shattering again at the familiarity of the gaze. Yuri might not remember him, but he did recognize him from his frequent visits and had chosen to trust him.

“Don't worry Yura, just wait a little bit more,” he whispered. “You've given up everything to save me, I will return the favor tenfold. I will free you and thaw the memory that's frozen inside you. And then I'll finally be able to tell you what I should've told you so long ago.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading this little oneshot.  
> I have whole story in mind with developed side characters and settings, but... I just don't find the time to write it.  
> For me it usually works like this, that I get a specific scene in mind (like this one here) and then develope a whole story around it. I've written this story something like 6 weeks ago and sadly my current job conditions don't allow me to put the time and strength into this story.
> 
> BUT I don't want it all go to waste, so if you're interested you can read a crude summary of it on my tumblr: http://kuraiofanagura.tumblr.com/post/159077560941/stormbird
> 
> Btw, I had a lot of CLAMP aesthetics in mind here xD like Yuri's wings are more like a cloak with impossible long single feathers and his cage is more of a globe made out of interlapping ice swirls. All very dramatic and victor-esque xD


End file.
